The present invention relates to an image capturing device which captures a plurality of unit images having parallax by using prisms.
In the prior art, there is a per se known type of image capturing device in which a plurality of unit images having parallax are captured by using a lens array which has a plurality of unit lenses and at least a prism. With this type of image capturing device, a light beam which is incident upon the prism and is refracted or reflected, and a light beam which is not incident upon the prism, are each incident upon a corresponding one of the unit lenses. Each of the unit lenses projects a light beam upon a corresponding region of a light reception element. And this image capturing device detects the parallax between the unit images which are obtained from the light beams. Then, the image capturing device generates an image signal corresponding to a panorama image by combining together the compound images on the basis of the parallax which has been detected.
With this type of image capturing device, a prism fitting construction in which the prism is pressed into a lens barrel to which the lens is fitted is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2007-041121. With this prism fitting construction, a trigger lever is provided within the lens barrel, and a pressure projection is provided at the tip end portion of this trigger lever. And, when the prism is pressed into the lens barrel, this pressure projection presses against one face of the prism, and receiving surfaces provided within the lens barrel press against both of its other two faces. By doing this, the prism is fixed within the lens barrel.
However, with this prism fitting construction disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 2007-041121, it is necessary to provide the trigger lever and the pressure projection within the lens barrel. Due to this, the manufacturing cost of the image capturing device is increased, because the number of components is increased and the manufacturing process becomes complicated.
Thus the object of the present invention is to provide an image capturing device which can prevent increase of the cost of manufacture.